Phantom Phan Phiction 3
by Scarlett Michealson
Summary: It's been some months since Scarlett's life changed, yet again, and now as it returns to some sense of normality, she realizes that there is one last piece of the puzzle. As life continues, she begins to realize that she might not have to go far to find that piece, but, will it go as she wants? People are saying that she is becoming more like her father...more like the Phantom.


Phantom Phan Phiction 3

It had been three weeks since Mother and Father had gotten married. The opera house had been quiet. Everyone had gone to Italy to visit the opera house there. So we were alone...for now.

"And how was it?" Raoul asked. He and Antwanett were engaged, and were working on the date of their wedding. I smiled, sitting in their lounge room.

"It was nice. Small, but nice. Madam Giry helped, and they found a Pastor. They had talked before the wedding, so he didn't wear his mask, and Mega and I had nice dresses. We did it in the Hall. It was nice and quiet. And when it was done, they left for their honeymoon. Mother said that Father had arranged it, and she didn't know where they were going, that it was a surprise, but she was excited. So it went well." I told them. Antwanett smiled.

"That sounds lovely, and quite perfect too." She was beaming. I smiled. Raoul seemed uneasy.

"So, you have no idea where they are?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, but they should be back next week. I think he said Wednesday." I replied. He nodded, slowly, still uneasy.

"Don't worry. I'm sure she's fine." Antwanett assured him. He sighed. He was still getting used to it all.

After dinner I took the carriage and went back over to the opera house, just to check on everything. As I opened the door, and walked in, the lights came on. I smiled, and closed it behind me. I walked down the center aisle and turned around, looking up into all the balconies. They were dark, and untouched. The organ sat in the center, cloaked in a dark blanket that protected it from dust and bugs. The piano on the stage had been taken away and now sat back stage, also covered. They would be back in three weeks from Italy and until then I was taking care of everything. I climbed the stairs onto the stage and walked through the door into the hallway. I walked through the dining hall and the kitchen, checking everything. It was all in order and just as it had been. As I started up the stairs to the living quarters, I heard something...someone, moving. I froze. Looking up, I suddenly heard a door open, and a streak of light hit the wall. A shadow stood in the center, unmoving. I looked back at the stage door, and suddenly, I was holding its handle. Quietly I closed it behind me, and ran across the stage and up the stairs, onto the catwalk.

I waited, silently, for a long time. When I had been there for half an hour the stage door finally opened, and a man wearing a top hat stepped onto the stage, closing the door behind him. He stood there, for a moment, looking around, and when he looked up at the ceiling, I backed away from the edge. He didn't see me, dressed as I was, all in black.

As he stood, silently, in the center of the stage, I watched him take his top hat and his coat off. I recognized him immediately. William.

He had been here since before I had gotten here over fifteen years ago, and we had gotten to know each other over the years. He was kind, and funny and all the girls liked him, but Meg swore he liked me the best. We were close friends now. But I had thought that he had went to Italy. It was strange to see him, dressed as he was, alone on the stage. I had only seen him like this once before...

He hummed a soft melody, his eyes closed. I had never heard it before, but I found it nice to listen too. When he had been there for some time, he began to sing, first to himself, but then getting the courage to sing louder, filling the Concert Hall in a way I didn't know he could. I had known for some time that he could sing well, but as his voice got louder and louder I had to wonder if it had a limit. It was already beautiful on its own, but the power he held behind it astounded me. I smiled, listening as the notes rose and fell.

People weren't supposed to come into the theatre. Only I was because Father owned it, and I was visiting Raoul, so I could check up on it, but William was here, against the wishes of the Head Master. I smiled. I wasn't going to tell.

When he had finished over an hour after he had started, he bent over, breathing heavily, the notes still hanging in the air around him. When he had caught his breath, he stood up straight, and stood there for another moment, just looking over all the seats.

"Will you come down from there eventually?" He asked suddenly, looking right at me. My face went white and I gulped. He had seen me.

"I can. Yes." I replied. He laughed.

"You should! Aren't you afraid of falling?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Not in the slightest." I smiled, and I walked down the stairs. He was chuckling when I reached the bottom.

"The Phantom would have just appeared on the stage, you know." He said. I shook my head.

"But I do things differently now." I replied, walking up to him, and he kissed my hand.

"How long have you known I was up there?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Since I walked in. I heard you, walking around earlier and I figured it was you or your father." He said. I nodded.

"Nice." I laughed at him.

"So why were you up there? Practicing to be the Phantom?" He asked. I nearly bent over, laughing.

"We don't practice that. In my family you just become the Phantom at some point. I was listening to you sing. I didn't you could sing like that." I told him. He laughed, more nervously.

"What did you think?" He asked. I started to smile.

"Honestly? I've heard you sing before, and I already thought it was beautiful, but this time, you amazed me. I didn't know you had that much power. I mean, you filled the theatre with your voice! You were a lot louder than the last time I heard you sing." I explained. He nodded, starting to smile softly. I could tell he wasn't used to singing in front of people.

"I never sang that loud because I knew I wasn't alone, like I was just now, and even knowing you where up there, I was ok, but when I know people are in the living quarters or in the kitchen or something, I get nervous and my voice gets weak." He replied. I shook my head.

"Why? You should be proud of what you can do! If they heard you singing they would be amazed, intrigued. They would be speechless. I'm pretty sure that the Head Master can't even sing like that. " I told him. He sighed.

"I just get...afraid. I don't know why, but it's always been there." He told me. I nodded.

"Well maybe when they get back, we can practice getting louder. I'll sing with you, if you want. We can do it together!" I encouraged him. He nodded.

"That's actually a good idea! Maybe we can." He smiled at me. I picked up his coat and handed it to him as he was getting ready to leave, and our hands accidently met. I blinked, when they did, and he just gave me a funny look.

"You act like you've never held someone's hand before." He said. I smiled at the ground.

"I haven't." I replied, quietly. His eyes grew wide.

"Really?" He asked, surprised. I nodded.

"I have yet to go on my first date, and I'm almost thirty. Something to do with wearing a white mask." I smiled at him. He frowned, and we both grew very quiet.

And then I watched as he reached up, and removed it, to reveal the scar that now lay across my face. I could open my eye again, but all around it, the skin felt tight, and stretched, and it was pink. There were ridges were my normal skin ended, and where the new skin had never healed properly. He gasped.

"Scarlett, if I was your lover, I would tell you, that you look beautiful. Because you do. And that's the truth." He smiled, and he handed me the mask, and kissed my hand. I watched him leave, before I realized I had stopped breathing.

What had just happened? My heart was beating so fast I couldn't even think of anything else but of what he had said.

 _"...you look beautiful."_

A shiver ran down my spine and I smiled to myself.

After I had gotten something to eat I went up to bed, and read my book for a little while before I turned my light out. For a long time I stared at Meg's bed before I finally fell asleep.

When I woke, the sun was filtering through and I could smell something like breakfast, before I realized that I shouldn't be smelling anything. I jumped out of bed, and nearly tripped over my night gown as I ran down the staircase.

"Relax! I didn't know you could smell it all the way up there!" He smiled at me, holding the pan in his hand. I sighed.

"William, what are you doing here?" I asked. He laughed.

"I've already been to the opera house in Italy, and I knew you were here, so I thought I would make you breakfast so you had something to look forward too." He replied. I smiled to myself.

"Ok. But are you going to have some as well?" I asked. He laughed.

"I will. But only if you do." And we both giggled.

"So did you sleep well?" He asked. I nodded.

"I didn't even wake up once." I replied. He smiled.

"Well that's good. Have you left this place since everyone left?" He asked. I nodded.

"I visited Raoul _Vicomte De Chagny_." I told him. He gave me a funny look.

"Isn't he, like your father too?" He asked. I chuckled.

"Yes, he is. He was my only father until some years ago, right before Mother came back, he told me the truth. That's how I found out who the Phantom really was." I explained. He nodded.

"I remember when that all happened." He murmured. He stopped, and looked up from his crepes.

"How many times, in those years, were you the one, singing on that stage at night?" He asked. I gave him a funny look.

"Is that a trick question?" I asked. He laughed.

"No, I just meant, well, the rest of us just assumed that it was the Phantom, but seeing you up on that catwalk last night made me think, how much you're like him, and that made me curious." He explained further. I looked at my plate, almost empty now.

"It was always me. But sometimes he would sing with me." I replied. His grew wide.

"I knew it..." He breathed. I gave him a funny look, taking my last bite.

"Knew what?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Everyone just always thought it was him, but I knew it was you. I always knew, knew that you were the true Phantom." He whispered. I laughed.

"Honestly, he's getting older now, and someone has to keep the tradition going." I replied. He nodded.

"So, have you found any new secrets, since you've lived here?" He asked. I thought for a moment.

"I have actually." I suddenly remembered. He looked up from his plate, clearly not expecting that answer.

"Box five. It has another door. I haven't been inside yet, and it might just be a closet, but then I would have thought they all had doors like that, but none of the other balconies do. Just that one. And oddly enough that's the box that Father always liked." I replied, quietly. He watched me, carefully.

"Why haven't you opened it, and looked?" He asked. I shrugged.

"I just haven't. I don't know why. Maybe I'm waiting for something, but I just haven't yet." I replied. He sighed.

"Well you should sometime. I guess it's only right that you do, if you're supposed to be the next Phantom." He replied. I nodded and we finished breakfast.

"So what now?" He asked, as we left the dining hall. I shrugged and wondered down the hall, passed the stage door, and through the side entrance that lead to the walkway behind all the seats in the theatre.

"We could check that door." He said. I looked up at box five, still dark, still empty and nodded.

"Why don't we?" I replied, and we walked around the back and up the staircase. When we reached the entrance to it, I opened the door and we walked in. From here we were really close to the stage. I turned, and pulled the curtains away to reveal the door.

The door was red, like the walls around it, but the handle was gold, but covered in dust. I wiped it away with my dress, and grabbed it, turning it, we both heard it click, and we looked at one another.

Slowly, I opened it, somewhat afraid of what we would find. Behind it was a stone staircase, surrounded by stone walls that went down, into the dark. There was a single light torch on the wall, that I took and lit with a candle nearby.

"What do you think is down there?" He asked. I shrugged. We started down the stairs. They were long, and deep, but they never turned. When we reached the bottom the air was cold, and everything felt damp. We walked down a straight hall, until we came upon a wooden door. When I opened it, my footsteps echoed, and suddenly all the lights came on. I gulped as I looked around. Will stood behind me, breathless.

"Look," He gasped, pointing above us. When we looked up, I saw the old chandelier, the broken one, which now hung, in pieces. I blinked.

"That's what happened to it." I breathed. He snorted.

"What is this place?" He asked. I laughed.

"This is my place." I replied, pointing above the name above the doorway we had just come from.

"Scarlett"

William gave me a funny look.

"He knew about this place." He said. I nodded.

"Of course he did. He's the Phantom of the Opera." I breathed and he chuckled.

The room was like one, large, stage. The floor was made of the same wood, and all around the edges were red, velvet, seats. On the wall, opposite us, was the organ from Father's living quarters. I smiled. It was my favorite, and in the center, sat my beloved, black, grand, piano. I smiled.

"This is incredible...and huge!" He whispered. I laughed, but agreed with him. And then I noticed the door next to the organ. I walked across the sea of wood, around the piano, and over to the door. Will just watched as I opened it, slowly, and peered inside. When I stepped into the darkness behind it, the lights also came on, and I found myself in what looked like the inside of a house. In front of me was a lounging area, and beyond that a kitchen and dining room. I was amazed. I could actually live here. I guessed it was because mother was moving in with him, and it would be easier, if I lived here. I smiled, and closed the door again behind me, the lights going out at the last moment.

"So? What was in there?" He asked. I shrugged.

"Just a storage closet." I replied. He nodded.

"That's odd, for here? Don't you think?" He asked. I chuckled.

"Well, my father can be a little odd at times." I replied. He nodded.

"That is true."

I took the cover off the organ, and put it into the "storage closet." The organ still look brand-new.

"Wow, that's a really big organ!" He gasped. I smiled.

"It's the biggest in the world, actually." I breathed. He gave me a funny look.

"How do you know that?" He asked. I stared at my reflection in the pipes, and smiled to myself.

"There are some things I just know." I replied. He nodded slowly as if he understood.

"And, everything was ok?" Antwanett asked, opening the door. I nodded.

"Just as I left it." I said, coming in behind her. It was cold, and dreary outside, and I was happy to get away from the weather.

"Hello darling!" Raoul called, from the other room as he walked into the foyer. I smiled and gave him a big huge.

"So, anything new?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Not at all." I replied. He chuckled and lead Antwanett and I into the lounge area, where we had tea.

"I can't believe this weather." He said. I laughed.

"It is Paris." I smiled at him. He gave a reluctant look.

"Too shay."

"So have you heard from your parents yet?" Antwanett asked. I shook my head. Tomorrow was Wednesday and they were supposed to call, but I hadn't heard anything yet. I shook my head.

"They probably forgot, or they're on their way." I smiled. He gave me a suspicious look, but didn't say anything further.

"So, how's the wedding, coming along?" I asked. Antwanett nearly jumped in her seat.

"Everything is almost done! I just have to find my dress now!" She told me. I smiled.

"Well I'm glad to hear everything is coming along nicely." I replied. Raoul was beaming. I could tell they loved each other very much. I was happy for them both. Something just seemed...off.

Just as we were sitting down to have dinner, the telephone rang. We were lucky to have one, they were expensive and few had them, so they weren't worth much yet.

"Hello?" Raoul answered. Suddenly his face turned white. I knew that face.

"Erik. How are you?" He asked, suddenly very serious. I smiled. Antwanett seemed nervous. I stood up, and quietly took the phone from him.

"Father?" I asked, into it. He stopped talking about whatever.

"Scarlett?!" He seemed much happier suddenly. "How are you?!" I laughed.

"I'm good, Father. How is Mother?" I asked. Raoul and Antwanett were watching me, anxiously. I smiled at the two of them, sitting there.

"She's good. I was just calling to find out where you were, you didn't answer the opera house telephone, so I thought you might be there. We're on our way home now!" He said. I smiled to myself.

"That's good. Did you and Mother have a good time?" I asked.

"Hello Scarlett!" I suddenly heard her yell in the background. I laughed.

"Tell her I said hello. Haha!" I replied. He was chuckling.

"Yes, we had a good time. We'll see you tomorrow! Ok?" He replied. I nodded.

"That sounds good! See you soon! Bye Father!" I said. And when he had said goodbye, I hung up. It was my first time using the telephone and I was fascinated by it. If I hadn't loved singing so much, I would have gone across the ocean to visit Alexander Grahem Bell.

"So?" Raoul asked, when I sat down. I chuckled.

"They're coming home now." I replied. He nodded. I gave him a funny look.

"Why did you seem so afraid when you answered?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Your father, well, he, uh...has a way of getting what he wants." He said. I nodded.

"Ah."

"How did you get there?" He called up to me. I laughed.

"I have my secrets." I replied. He shook his head.

"I didn't even know you were there." He said, as I walked down the stairs and onto the stage.

"That, was the idea." I replied. He sighed.

"Sometimes I think you become more like _him_ , everyday." He said. I smiled.

"Sometimes I think that's not such a bad idea." I replied and we both laughed.

"How are you?" He asked, kissing my hand again. I blushed, underneath my mask.

"I am good, and you?" I asked. He chuckled.

"Happy to be here." He replied. I raised an eyebrow. "I have something to tell you. I guess that's why I'm happy to be here." He said. I gave him a funny look.

"And what do you want to tell me?" I asked. He sighed.

"I can't really tell you...I have to give it to you." He told me. The funny expression didn't leave my face, but I had a good feeling about it.

And just like that, the two of us, alone, on my stage, kissed. Suddenly, as we stood there, quietly kissing, the organ began to play...on its own. He stopped, and looked up, and then back at me.

"Who's playing..." He trailed off, looking at it again. I smiled. "Wait, are, are you doing that?" He asked, exasperated. I laughed.

"Yes. I am." I said. He blinked, looking back at the organ.

"But, how?!" He asked. I laughed again. We were having too much fun.

"Isn't that the question of the day." I replied. I never did tell him, at least not for a long time.

"Well, I think that is awesome." He told me. I giggled.

"You think so?" I asked. He nodded.

"I think so." He agreed and we kissed again.

Then I sat down at the piano and played a tune I had had in my head for a while.

"What is that?" He asked, sitting next to me as I played. I shrugged.

"It's in my head. _I think it's beautiful_." I started to sing. He smiled, and listened.

Suddenly as we sat there, singing and playing the piano together, I felt something. I stopped playing, and Will gave me a funny look.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Without looking up, I called out.

"You can come down now, Father." The blood in Will's face drained when I got a reply.

"You knew?" He asked. I looked up at box number five.

"I've always known, Phantom." I replied. He chuckled, and I heard his footsteps on the stairs. Will looked at me, terrified. I giggled.

"Don't worry. He's fine." I whispered. He nodded, but his face didn't change.

"It's William, isn't it?" He asked, walking onto the stage. Will nodded, still afraid, and rose to shake his hand. He chuckled, as he met Will.

"Don't worry. If I were you, I'd be more afraid of her, then I would be of me." He told Will, who nodded.

"Oh...uh, ok." He smiled, weakly.

"Scarlett!" I heard Mother squeal behind me, and she ran up and gave me a hug. I laughed.

"It's good to see you again!" I sighed, not letting go. She laughed. "How was it? Where did you?" I asked.

"We stayed here, in Paris, but your Father and I, well, we saw things from a different perspective." She was beaming. I gave her a funny look.

"What do you mean?" I asked. She smiled at Father, who Will was still eyeing cautiously.

"Well, he showed me Paris at night. We had dinner in the Eiffel tower, with fireworks all around us, then we saw Notre Dam, at night, and being the person your father is, we saw things from high up, and out of the view of people, but it was a different angle of Paris I had never seen before, and it was very beautiful!" she said. I nodded, looking at him.

"Did you sneak into the Louvre?" I asked. He looked at the floor and back at me.

"Maybe." He whispered. Mother and I just smiled at him.

"Well, I'm going to unpack." She said, and giving me a kiss on the cheek and a nod at Will, she disappeared down the stairs.

"Twenty-five years ago, she would never have done that." He said to me. I smiled.

"Twenty-five years ago, you were...more powerful." I said. He chuckled...darkly.

"That's true." He breathed.

"Go, help her unpack." I told him, he nodded and turned to leave.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked. I nodded. It was just the two of us now, like old times. Will had disappeared into the living quarters.

"What do you do, when you're alone, in here?" He asked, looking all around, at the balconies, and seats, and the stage with its curtains. I smiled.

"Well, let's see, I am the Phantom's daughter, so what do you think?" I asked him. He smiled at my name choice.

"I think, when no one is around, you become like me...like the Phantom, and you disappear into the shadows. I saw you found something, in the darkness." He whispered. I smiled.

"Box five is really nice." I breathed. He chuckled.

"I thought you might say that." He murmured, and just before he closed the door he winked at me.

"He's not as scary as I thought." I heard behind me. Will had come back. I chuckled.

"Well, you also didn't know him twenty-five years ago." I breathed and we kissed one last time before he left, leaving me alone.

I spent the afternoon moving everything from both the living quarters and from Father's place, into box five as I called my new home.

When everyone returned they were loud, laughing and talking about what they had seen and learned, and who they had met, remembering all the good times. I watched from my normal seat in box five, as they all went by, and into the hallway that lead to the living quarters. None of them even noticed the masked figure, in the shadows, watching them.

Five years Later...

Mother had grown tired of living below the opera house, so her and Father had finally decided to move. They found an old castle near the edge of Paris and they lived there.

I closed the door to their living quarters from the outside world, but sometimes I still visited it. William and I lived in a nice, big, house just down the way from the opera house where we both still worked.

Meg had become the head mistress after Madam Giry and she continued to love the job just as her family had before her. The new singers that came in, had long forgotten the old tales, but, every now and then one or two still said they saw a figure, hiding away in the dark...

I sat in box five, watching all the new performers come into the theatre for the first time, just as I had, so long ago. They all looked around and passed by, going into the hallway...except one. She stopped, and looked around, looking up at the chandelier, and at the stage, and when she did, the lights came on, and then she looked at me, smiled, and disappeared into the hallway. The piano still playing, even when she had gone.

And so the _Phantom of the Opera_ lived on forever and ever...

The End


End file.
